My great-grandfather Charles Petznick and his half-brother Gottfried,
came to the United States from Germany, where according to the Cromwell,
Iowa City Directory in 1876, settled in Union County in 1872. Left
is a page in the directory listing Charles as a laborer.

Here are listings in the Creston, Iowa City directory in 1893 (left) and
1899 (right), where they have misspelled our last name as Petzneck.

In May of 2001, I took a trip back to my home town of
Creston, Union County, Iowa. While there, I paid a visit
to the Court House there and took the time to look up whatever land
records I could on the Petznick family. Below is what I found for
Charles Petznick. The location of the properties in each township
map is designated by the following symbol.

In
1909, Charles and Anna purchased land in Dodge Township in Union County,
Iowa. To the left and right are the deed and legal paperwork for
that purchase.

Taken
in 1917, left is a picture of the home of Charles Petznick at 500
S. Elm St., Creston, Union County, Iowa. The
photo on the right shows a close-up of
great-grandmother Anna
Waltersdorf Petznick (standing right) and her
daughter Anna Petznick on the porch.

Left
is a picture of Bruno Petznick, my grandfather, at age
18. The picture on the
right is of his memorial. He died in the swine flu epidemic of 1918 at the age of 29 in Sydney,
Montana while homesteading there.

This
is the 1930 Census record for Multnomah County, Portland Township,
Oregon for Rose Petznick, and her family. She was married to
Albert Carpenter. Also listed is the
record for Anna Waltersdorf
Petznick, my great-grandmother.

Left
is a picture taken from the 50th Anniversary
Souvenir booklet for the St. John's Evangelical
Church of Creston, Iowa in 1928. It shows the
members of the church choir at that time. In
the back row, left to right are: Charlotte Birkner,
William Elftmann, Arline Pontow, Gottfried Birkner
(husband of Anna Petznick), Julius Strey, and Anna
Petznick Birkner. In the front row are:
Mrs. Lena Case, Marie Safris, Minnie Schultz (wife
of Carl Petznick), and
Helen Orth.

Petznicks
Printing - A long-established business in Creston,
Iowa, was founded in 1934 by Kenny and Leona
Petznick. Left is a picture of Kenny and Leona
taken in 1955 in front of their new store on North
Elm street. Right is a card I received from
aunt Leona last Christmas. On the flip-side,
is a year 2000 calendar. Leona still works
there to this day.

Over
the years, Kenny Petznick was honored several times
for his devoted service and perfect attendance
record by the Kiwanis organization. Right is a
photograph of one of those honor days (probably in
the 1970s), as it appeared in the Creston News
Advertiser, Creston, Iowa.

My
father, Harold Jay Petznick (left, and the only time I ever saw him in a dress)
and his brother Kenneth Kermit
Petznick. This photograph was taken in
1913. It was used as an actual postcard sent by my grandmother
Elsie Fay
McKee Petznick. [see below]

In 1946 my father Harold Jay Petznick built a house on the farm formerly owned by Jake
Wenzel and my grandmother, Elsie
McKee Petznick Wenzel. It is located in Section 8, T71N, Range
30W, Grant Township, Union County, Iowa. Our mailing address
growing up was RR#4. Now, thanks to new addressing, it's located
on 240th Street.

This
is one of my all-time favorite pictures of my Dad,
Harold Jay Petznick, taken at the Kansas City Royals
baseball stadium in about 1984. The picture (to me)
captures his spirit as I knew and loved it. Dad
loved baseball and we spent many hours watching,
listening and talking about the game over the
years.

Left
is a picture of Erna Petznick and her 1st cousin,
Erma Fay Cornelison, daughter of Etha
May McKee, taken in the early 1920s.
Right is a picture of Erna in her High School
graduation gown, taken in 1932.

Left
is a picture of Erna Petznick at the time of her
Bible School graduation in 1942. Right is a
picture of Erna at her desk at the Gospel Publishing
House in Springfield, Missouri, taken probably in
the late 1940s.

In 1941, Erna graduated from
SBS (Springfield Bible College in Springfield,
Missouri) and began a life of Christian
Ministry. She spent time in the mountains of
Eastern Kentucky before returning to
Springfield. In April of 1945, she met Ruby
Mae Enyart, who also was called to service for the
Lord. They formed what was to become a
lifelong companionship and Ministry.

In 1992, Erna and Ruby wrote their Memoirs and
published it in a book titled, "Can God
Furnish a Table in the Wilderness?"
The book tells of their lives, the many roads they
traveled and stories of those inspired through a
personal relationship with Christ. The photos
on the left and right are of the front and back
covers of the book.

Left is a picture of Erna in front of a cabin she
stayed at in Eastern Kentucky in the early
1940s. From 1946 to 1946 Erna and Ruby
operated a Religious bookstore on Main Street in
Fort Scott, Kansas. Right is a picture of Ruby
(left) and Erna in their store.

A large portion of Erna's contribution to their Ministry was playing music. Left is a photo of
Erna in her early days when she learned how to play
the accordion. (She still actively plays the
organ) In the late 1960s, Erna and Ruby were
co-pastors in a Church in Lovelock, Nevada.
Right is a picture of Ruby (left) and Erna that
appeared in the Springfield Gazette. It was
the winning float in the Penny Parade, which
raised money for the Assembly of God Church
ministries.

Erna passed away on Sunday, December 23, 2001 at the Maranatha Lodge in
Springfield, Missouri. I am thankful that I was able to be there
for her for her last three days on this earth. Erna became a dear
friend and confidant to me these past few years and I will miss her
dearly.

Right
is the birth certificate for Harley Petznick. If you notice, the
certificate has the state of North Dakota printed on top, however it was
crossed out and replaced by Montana. Harley was born in Richey,
Montana when my grandparents were homesteading there.

Left
is a picture taken of Harley, Erna
Petznick and Elsie
McKee Petznick Wenzel at the farm of Jake Wenzel
(where I grew up) in the early 1940s. Right is
a picture of Harley in his back yard in Pomona,
California in the 1950s.

Left is a photo of Harley's headstone at the Forest Lawn Mortuary -
Covina, California in the "Constant Peace" area. Right
is a picture of LaJuan Gunn Petznick's grave, also in Forest Lawn
Cemetery, Covina, California.

On May 16th, 2001 I visited my brother Hal and his
family and got a chance to get acquainted with my
great nephews. Left is a picture of the entire
clan. L - R: Chris Pickett, Heather Petznick
Pickett, Chase Petznick, Pete Petznick, Angel
Petznick, Colby Petznick, Hal Petznick and Carol
Wahe Petznick.

Like
two peas in a pod, right is a picture of Hal and
Colby in Hal's dune buggy that Hal built from
scratch. Hal has taken it on several trips to
sand dunes in Oklahoma and Idaho. Hal gave
Colby and me a great ride over, around and through
their next-door neighbor's yard. It was fun!

A proud and happy day, left is photo of Pam and her family taken
11/13/1999, when her son Brian received his Eagle Scout (Troup 601,
Upland, CA). Left to right are: Her husband Wes Mitchell, Brian,
Danny, Lara and Pam.

The graduates. Left is a picture of Pam's daughter Lara Melissa
Mitchell taken at her high school graduation in Upland, California in
1998. Right is Pam and her son Brian William Mitchell taken at his
high school graduation in Upland, California in 2000.

Two of my all-time favorite pictures
of my daughter, left is a picture of Jamie in her
volleyball uniform taken during her sophomore year
in High School in Albion, IN. Battered and bruised
after years in my wallet, right is a photo of Jamie
in her cheerleading uniform in front of Transylvania
University in Lexington, Kentucky taken in 1993.

The
latest addition to the Petznick clan, left is a
picture of my great-nephew Chase Anthony
Petznick. Chase is the son of Pete
Petznick and Angel Ballew Petznick, grandson of Hal
Petznick and Carol Wahe Petznick.